


Better Late Than Never

by DobbyRocksSocks



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Romance, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 07:04:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3347975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DobbyRocksSocks/pseuds/DobbyRocksSocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Penelope convinces the entire team to go on holiday. Emily doesn't want to be there. Will Dave come to his senses at last? PrentissRossi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Better Late Than Never

Better Late Than Never

Emily didn't know why she'd let Penelope talk her into it. She really didn't. The only defence she could come up with was that nobody ever refused Penelope Garcia anything for long. The problem with that, was that Emily was now packing a suitcase for a week away with the entirety of her team, along with their extended families. It wasn't that she didn't love them. She did. Every single one of them. That didn't mean she wanted to spend a week of her stand down time with them. All of them. Together. For a solid week.

Zipping up the case, she pulled it from her bedroom, depositing it by the front door. Checking the clock, she decided she had time for a glass of wine before she climbed into bed for another night of tossing and turning, her sleep disturbed by the nightmares that plagued her on a nightly basis. Pouring a generous measure, she moved to the living room, slumping down on the couch.

She flicked through the channels on the TV as she sipped her drink, finding nothing that even slightly compelled her to watch. Throwing the remote on the table, she decided to call it a night, hoping that she would be able to claim a few hours rest. Before she could get as far as the doorway, her phone rang.

"Prentiss," she answered on the third ring.

"Hello, my lovely, are you all packed and ready for adventure?" Penelope asked. Emily smiled despite herself, hearing the excitement in her voice.

"I am," she replied. "All ready to go. What time are we meeting at the airport?"

"Seven am," Garcia said. "I still think you should let someone pick you up. It makes no sense for you to catch a cab."

"Everyone is full up," Emily replied with a chuckle. "And besides, I have no issue catching a cab."

"Rossi will have room," Penelope argued.

"No."

"Em, -"

"I said no, Penelope. Please, don't push me on this," Emily said, and she thought the tiredness must have been more pronounced than she'd intended because Penelope sighed.

"I'm sorry, Em," she said quietly. "I didn't really think this holiday through, did I?"

"You arranged it with love," Emily assured her. "It will be fine, I promise. I'll see you in the morning?"

"You will. Good night, my sweet."

"Night Pen," Emily said, clicking on the screen to end the call. Walking into her bedroom, Emily put her phone on the bedside table, before she slowly stripped her clothes. She'd take a shower in the morning, in the hopes it would help her wake up.

Penelope was the only one aware of the relationship she'd engaged in with Dave, and she was also the only one who knew just how broken hearted Emily was about the end of said relationship. It was just one more thing that Ian had managed to take away from her before he died, Emily surmised as she climbed into bed. Double checking her alarm was set, Emily rolled over, thumping her pillow into a more comfortable position, before she closed her eyes and succumbed to the sleep that beckoned her.

xxxx

Emily was thankful for sunglasses and double strength Starbucks coffee. They were the only two things keeping her feeling at least relatively normal as she joined her team in the waiting area for their flight. She was the last to arrive, and after being passed around for hugs in greeting, she was trying her best to stay out of the way. Hotch and Beth appeared to be having a slight domestic, and Henry was having the mother of all tantrums at JJ and Will.

Emily drank her coffee silently, watching the others from behind the safety of her shades, wishing internally that she could be anywhere but here. Morgan walked over to her, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"Alright, Princess?" he asked quietly, his eyes travelling over the mess that was their team.

"I'm good," she replied offering him a small smile as she looked up at him.

"Want another coffee? I gotta escape this for a while," he offered, and her smile widened.

"Want some company?"

"Hey, Baby-Girl?" he called to Penelope instead of answering Emily. When Penelope looked in their direction, Morgan motioned they were going for a walk. She nodded happily and waved to them.

Morgan led Emily away from the rabble, moving her in the direction of the closest cafe.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" he asked her as they walked.

"Derek, you know I love the team," she replied, ignoring the actual question, something she knew he would pick up on.

"I do know that, but I also know how quiet you've been lately. Still not worked things out with Rossi?"

She turned to look at him, lifting her sunglasses to her head. "What do you mean?"

"Come on, Princess, I'm not stupid. You and Rossi had a... thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied, forcing her emotions down. She had honestly thought they'd managed to hide it better than that.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Did he hurt you? Cause I have no problem kicking his ass if he did."

"It wasn't like that. I... I hurt him. By Dying. And then coming back to life. Kinda puts the breaks on any kind of relationship, you know?" she said tiredly. "He mourned the death of his girlfriend, and then I magically appeared months later. I'm not surprised he's distanced himself from me."

Derek nodded thoughtfully. "Doesn't really sound like the Rossi I know, to be perfectly honest. I would have thought he'd have been thrilled to get you back. Besides, I thought he said he had an inkling something was up?"

"It is what it is. Maybe he decided I wasn't what he wanted after all. Can't say I blame him," she snorted, humourlessly.

"Don't say that," Derek muttered, frowning. "Anyone would be lucky to have you."

"I wasn't fishing for compliments," she told him, though she smiled. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace.

When he released her, she was surprised to feel a little better than she had. She grinned at him. "Come on, lets go and get more caffeine before they call the flight. This is going to be the longest week in the history of holidays."

He returned the grin and rolled his eyes. "I know exactly what you mean. Garcia so owes us big for this."

xxxx

Emily looked at the Villa with her eyebrow raised. It was nice, from the outside at least. She could hear Penelope rattling off the amenities available, and it sounded like paradise. Emily couldn't help but look at the amount of people, then back at the villa. It was big... but not that big.

When they entered through the main door, Penelope called them all to a halt. "There are five bedrooms, people. Each contains a double bed, and two of them have single beds also. JJ, Hotch, you and your respective families get the rooms with the extra beds. Away with you."

JJ laughed, but they all did as they were bid, Will and Hotch carrying the suitcases as the ladies led the way.

"Reid, you and your lovely lady can have one room, and you my hunk of sexy love, can share with me. Sorry princess, but you talk in your sleep," Penelope added to Emily.

Emily looked first at Penelope, then Morgan, as the arrangements dawned on her. She would be sharing a room, and a double bed, with her ex boyfriend. Derek looked like he was about to say something when Penelope pulled him away to lay claim to their bedroom. Reid and Mauve followed quickly, leaving Emily standing in the hallway, with her eyes everywhere other than on her companion.

Reluctantly picking up her suitcase, she cast a glance at Rossi to find him watching her, and averted her gaze swiftly.

This wasn't going to be awkward at all.

"Let me take your case," he offered, moving to stand beside her, holding his hand out. She ignored the hand and shook her head.

"I can manage, thanks," she muttered, before heading in the same direction the others had gone. She found the last remaining room at the end of the hallway, and she was happy to see that they at least had an en-suite bathroom. She heard Dave enter behind her and moved further into the room, automatically going to the side of the bed furthest from the door.

Dave always slept on the side of the bed closest to the door.

Dropping her suitcase beside the bed, Emily moved to the window. At last, she'd found a silver lining to the holiday. The view from the window was stunning. The villa backed out on to the beach, and Emily had an unhampered view of the ocean. Looking down, she saw there was a pool at the back of the villa, along with what looked like a full barbecue set up. Maybe she should have listened to Penelope a bit better.

"Are you going to unpack then shower, or shower than unpack?" Dave asked, breaking the silence.

"You go ahead," she said, waving him toward the bathroom absent-mindedly, not taking her eyes from the window. She could feel his eyes on her back for a few moments, before she heard him sigh quietly and shuffle towards the bathroom. When she heard the door click shut quietly, she turned back to look at the room.

Deciding she might as well unpack her clothes, she was unzipping the case as Penelope walked in.

"Do you like the view?" she asked, walking around to sit on Emily's side of the bed.

"Why would you do this?" Emily asked, looking up at Penelope with a wounded look on her face. "Why would you make me share a room, share a bed with him?"

Penelope had the grace to look guilty. "I didn't think?" she offered.

"Obviously not," Emily muttered, turning her attention back to her clothes.

"Do you want to switch with me? I haven't unpacked yet."

Emily sighed. "No. I know you were looking forward to some alone time with Derek. I'll manage."

"I'm sorry Em."

"Don't worry about it. Is there any plan for the rest of today, or is everyone doing their own thing?"

"I've not arranged anything," Penelope said. "I figured people would just want to settle in."

Emily nodded. "I think I'm going to take a walk on the beach then, after I've had a shower. I'll see you later?"

"I'll be here, cupcake. Get back for dinner, I'm going to order lots and lots of take out, and we'll have a movie night. This place has its own cinema, I swear, the lounge area is freaking huge."

Emily laughed. "I'll be back for that then."

"You got a good view here, huh," Penelope said, standing up and moving to the window to get a better look.

"It's beautiful," Emily agreed, crawling across the floor with a pile of clothes balancing on one hand, to put them in the drawer.

"Well, I'm going to go and unpack. Enjoy your walk, sweetie," Penelope said, smiling at Emily before she left the room with a bounce in her step. Emily smiled after her, wondering why she had never been able to stay mad at her for longer than a few seconds.

She'd put her clothes away, and chosen a loose summer dress by the time Dave came out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a fluffy towel around his waist. She picked her clean clothes up and hastened to the bathroom, making sure not to look at him as she passed him. Closing and locking the door behind her, she leant against it as she let out a long breath.

It was going to be a long week.

xxxx

Emily returned from the beach to find the rest of her team out by the pool. Jack, Henry and Morgan were splashing around in the water, and the others were standing and sitting around the edge, some talking, some laughing at the antics of the kids.

"Em! Come sit with me," Penelope called from the lounger she was stretched out on. Emily did as she was asked, sitting on the edge of the lounger when Penelope shifted over.

"Did you enjoy your walk?"

"I did. This place is beautiful, Pen."

"I know," Penelope agreed with a wide smile. "I have a bus booked to take us exploring tomorrow."

Emily smiled. "Sounds good. We got any free days?"

"Of course. I want dibs on one of them though," she warned. When Emily raised her eyebrow in question, Penelope's smile got impossibly wider. "The shopping here is amazing!"

Emily laughed. "Oh, but of course we must get some credit card time in."

"Obviously!"

"We still on for Movie night?" Emily asked, stretching her back out slightly.

"We are. We're going to put a kids movie on while we eat, and then when Jack and Henry go to bed, I have a hard-drive full to the brim of every kind of movie imaginable for us to argue over."

"Sounds great," Emily said.

Her walk had helped her calm herself, and she'd given herself a good talking too. So she was stuck sharing a room with Rossi. They were both adults, and they were still colleagues. She had to get over the funk she'd allowed herself to sink into or she was going to ruin her own, and everyone else's, holiday. That was the last thing she wanted.

"Alright, my lovelies. Time is getting on, and I have takeaway to order. I'm going to pass a pad around, just write what you want on it, and we'll go from there," Penelope called. Emily stood up just in time, as Penelope shuffled into a standing position. If Emily had stayed where she was, the lounger would have no doubt tipped up, tipping her into the pool.

Emily shook her head at the sheepish look on Penelope's face. She took the pad and wrote down her own order quickly, handing it back. Emily wandered back into the house, intent on having a look around the downstairs. She found the lounge, and was surprised with how apt Penelope description of it had been. Sofa's and chairs scattered in a semi-circle around a huge TV, with tables in between them. There were a few bean bags and oversized cushions on the floor as well. Looked like heaven to Emily.

She left that room, moving on to find a state of the art kitchen and dining room. Emily wasn't surprised to find the fridge and cupboards stocked to full capacity with all the teams favourite drinks and snacks. The sight of the coffee maker was also a relief.

A games room was the next Emily encountered, complete with a full sized pool table and an air-hockey table. She grinned and knew she and Morgan would need to find some time to spend in this room.

She didn't realise how long she'd been looking around when Beth poked her head through the doorway. "Food's here, Emily," she said, smiling. "This house is unreal, isn't it?"

"It's beautiful," Emily agreed, following Beth from the room, back into the kitchen where the rest of the team were gathered, minus the kids. She could hear the beginnings of a cartoon coming from the living room and smiled.

"We put them on a blanket," Beth said quietly. "Otherwise, we'd still be finding the food left in there on the day we leave."

Emily laughed. "Good thinking."

They both sat down at the table, Beth beside Hotch, Emily beside Morgan. Rossi was sitting on Emily's other said, and she offered him a small, tentative smile, which he returned with no hesitation.

"Did you have a good walk?" he asked quietly. The rest of the team were chatting loudly, so none of them took any notice of Rossi's question.

Emily nodded. "It was good," she said, turning away from him as Penelope passed food her way.

The meal passed easily. Emily joined in the conversation, and Derek and Penelope soon had them all in fits of laughter as they told anecdotes of their most recent outings. Hotch and JJ soon had Jack and Henry in bed, and Emily, along with Penelope, Beth and Mauve, arranged drinks and snacks on all available tables in the lounge area, ready for their movie night.

Emily dropped onto a bean bag as the couples arranged themselves on the numerous couches. Penelope did the same as Emily, pulling a beanbag over so it was beside the chair Morgan was taking up residence in. Emily looked behind her, not really surprised to find Dave sitting in the chair behind her. He seemed to be taking any opportunity to be near her today, and this was just another instance of that.

She didn't know what it meant, but she refused to get her hopes up. He was probably just trying to get their friendship back.

It took almost twenty minutes to finally agree on the first movie they were going to watch. Eventually, the men got their own way, and The Hangover came on screen. Emily had to admit that she was glad they'd won. The movie was hilarious, and by the time the end credits rolled, her sides were hurting from laughing so hard.

"Horror or Romantic Comedy?" Penelope asked loudly, flicking through the movies.

Horror quickly won, with only Beth and JJ voting against it. For most of them, seeing what they saw on a daily basis, horror movies didn't faze any of them. The one that Penelope finally decided on was much the same.

Emily leant back against the chair Dave was sitting in, her back protesting her lack of posture in the beanbag.

"Do you want to swap?" he whispered. She startled, turning to find him leaning down to speak close to her ear.

She shook her head. "No point both of us being stiff in the morning. I'm fine," she replied just as quietly. He nodded and leant back, but seconds later, she felt his hand on her neck, massaging the knots he found there.

Emily stifled the urge to moan. He'd always had magic fingers. She knew she should lean away from him, or swat his hand away, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she found herself leaning in to his hand, and the massaging turned to caressing. He ghosted his fingers along her neck and shoulders, occasionally pressing harder, working out the kinks. Emily was hard pressed to stay silent, and if anyone asked her what the second movie was about, she wouldn't have been able to tell them.

"I think I'm going to head to bed," Derek said, yawning, as the film ended. "You coming Baby-Girl?"

Penelope nodded, moving to hand the remote to Emily. Emily shook her head.

"I'm gonna head up as well," she said, taking the hand Derek offered her to get up. She groaned as she straightened out. "Remind me to leave the beanbags to the kids in future," she complained.

As the others all started to shift and stand, Emily bid them a quiet goodnight, slipping from the room. By the time she finished her nightly routine in the bathroom, Dave was sitting on the bed waiting for his own turn.

"Sorry," she said as she passed him. He just smiled as he went into the bathroom, leaving the door open slightly. Emily closed the blinds carefully, making sure they were completely shut. As much as she tried to block out anything that reminded her of their relationship, she knew that Dave would wake up as soon as the first ray of light came into the room if she left even the slightest gap.

Climbing into bed, she lay on her back, leaving the cover loose around her waist. It was a warm night, and the tank top and shorts she was wearing was enough to cover her sufficiently. She was watched from the corner of her eye as Dave re-entered the room. He paused by the light to look at her.

"Are you okay for me to turn the light off?" he asked quietly.

She looked over at him, she nodded. He flicked the switch, plunging them into darkness, and felt his way to the bed. She felt the bed dip as he sat down, then even out a little as he lay beside her. She could feel the heat from his body grazing over her, and she had to repress a shiver.

"Good night, Emily," he said softly.

"Night, Dave," she whispered. She shifted onto her side, and closed her eyes. As sleep claimed her, she listened to the even breathing of the man she loved.

xxxx

Dave woke up suddenly, unsure for a moment what had woken him up. The room was still pitch black, and there was no noise from anywhere in the villa. Emily stirred beside him, and he looked down at her. He could just barely make out her shape as his eyes adjusted. She was tossing in the bed, and she seemed to be struggling with something.

"No...No...Please...Don't, don't... Don't hurt them, please..."

A nightmare. He turned to his side, and called her name. The third time he said it, she woke up with a gasp. He watched as she got her bearings, as she lost the tension in her body and slumped back onto the pillow.

"I'm sorry for waking you," she choked out.

"You don't ever have to apologise for having nightmares, Sweetheart," he replied softly. "Come here."

He lay back down before he held his arms out to her. She hesitated for a minute, before she slid across the bed, into his waiting arms. He pulled her closer, so her head was resting against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled again, and he shook his head.

He didn't know how long he held her for, but she felt so right in his arms, that he didn't care. She was like the missing piece in his jigsaw puzzle and he was only realising now just how incomplete he felt without her.

Eventually she tried to pull back. He loosened his arms, but kept hold of her. She leant up so she could see his face.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"What I should have done the second you walked back into the office," he whispered back, before he leant up and claimed her lips with his own. She was still for a minute, and he wondered if he'd shocked her into freezing, before she was kissing him back.

One of his hands continued to rest on her back, stroking her skin through the thin material. The other moved up to her head, burying his hand in her hair as he tried to push everything he felt for her into the kiss.

When she pulled back, he opened his eyes to find her watching him cautiously. He stroked her cheek gently.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get my head out of my arse," he told her, smiling when her lips turned upwards. "I love you, Emily."

"I love you too," she replied. "I'm sorry for disappearing on you. I should have found a way to tell you what was happening."

He shook his head. "No more apologies. I've wasted too much time already, and I don't want to waste any more."

She smiled in agreement, settling her head on his chest. "I've missed you."

"I missed you too, darling. More than anything," he told her, before he gently rolled her away from him. Sliding his arm under her neck, he used his other hand to pull her back to his chest, then wrapped it around her waist. He spooned her from behind, moulding his body to hers.

When he felt her breathing even out, he placed a gentle kiss to her head and settled in behind her. "I'm sorry I waited so long. I love you," he whispered into her hair, not expecting an answer.

He was almost asleep when he heard, "Better late than never. I love you, Dave."

Reviews are love :) I hope you enjoyed.


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